It is known to prepare bis(p-aminocumyl)benzene compounds by reacting an aniline with various substituted benzenes in the presence of activated clay or synthetic zeolites in Japanese patent application Nos. 61/000,044 and 62/155,241.
In the process, it is desirable to isolate the reaction medium from the catalyst in order to minimize product degradation during the subsequent removal at high temperatures of unconverted excess aniline. Particularly, when the catalyst is in the form of fine particles of acidic clay, this presents a major inconvenience for a filtration process and also limits the process to that of repetitive and tedious batch operations using fresh batches of catalyst.
Accordingly, there is a need to have effective catalysts for the preparation of bis(p-aminocumyl)benzenes which can also be practically utilized in continuous operations.